Preview Round 8 2024 – Sydney Swans vs GWS Giants, Saturday May 4, 1.45pm AEST, SCG

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Colonial said:
I’m kind of glad as with his issues in the past I’m over the moon we are doing the right thing by testing him more.
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Yeah it's probably a good thing. That was a very short period of time to be coming back from an MCL. We have plenty of great players to choose from at the moment so we shouldn't be forcing it.
 
Giant Strides said:
Bit of the backstory to Binga's benching as sub for the Lions game, and how his knee is now:
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Considering the forecast and likely heavy ground, I don't think it's worth the risk him coming back this week.

Especially considering he said, "Yeah, I should be."

That kind of comment rings alarm bells when the player doesn't have full confidence, contrary to what the article stated.
 
Toby Greene and Sam Taylor in.

Stephen Coniglio will miss this week’s match with a knee injury sustained in round five, back in round 9.




FB: Harry Himmelberg, Sam Taylor, Harry Perryman
HB: Lachie Whitfield, Jack Buckley, Lachie Ash
C: Jacob Wehr, Josh Kelly, Finn Callaghan
HF: Harvey Thomas, Aaron Cadman, Toby Bedford
FF: Toby Greene, Jesse Hogan, Callum Brown
RR: Kieren Briggs, Callan Ward, Tom Green

Interchange: Darcy Jones, James Peatling, Connor Idun, Jake Riccardi, Brent Daniels

Ins: Toby Greene, Sam Taylor
Outs: Leek Aleer, Xavier O’Halloran (omitted)

Emergencies: Nick Haynes, Max Gruzewski, Xavier O’Halloran
 

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Battlepants said:
Yeah it's probably a good thing. That was a very short period of time to be coming back from an MCL. We have plenty of great players to choose from at the moment so we shouldn't be forcing it.
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absolutely this .... long season so make sure he's right. Hate when a player comes back and then is out for 2 more soon after with the same injury
 
Dropping XOH is not a great surprise.

Under pressure he is very suspect and Ward will provide the necessary gruntwork.

Kingsley's obviously going for speed in the wet.

I'd still leave Daniels as sub.

Edit: Whoever is on Rampe - RUN HIM RAGGED. He's coming back from a hamstring injury in wet conditions.
 
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Brenton Sanderson joined Gerard Whatley to preview the derby.

Skip to about the 18-minute mark for us as he has also previewed Carlton vs Collingwood and Melbourne vs Geelong.

 

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Brave New World said:
Interesting that Haynes was made an Emergency in front of Aleer; when it could be expected they would largely play similar defensive role if picked, though I suppose Haynes can play/has played other roles and generally is more versatile.
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Yeah it'd be versatility. Leek works as a sub for 3 players on field. Haynes maybe 6-7.
 
Section226 said:
Dropping XOH is not a great surprise.

Under pressure he is very suspect and Ward will provide the necessary gruntwork.

Kingsley's obviously going for speed in the wet.

I'd still leave Daniels as sub.

Edit: Whoever is on Rampe - RUN HIM RAGGED. He's coming back from a hamstring injury in wet conditions.
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too hard to choose

Just play 23 and wait till someone notices
 
The media build up continues:

www.gwsgiants.com.au

Smug and Chirpy: The History of the Sydney Derby

We take a look at the spicy rivalry between the GIANTS and the Swans ahead of Sydney Derby XXVII on Saturday.
www.gwsgiants.com.au www.gwsgiants.com.au

Smug and Chirpy: The History of the Sydney Derby​

We take a look at the spicy rivalry between the GIANTS and the Swans ahead of Sydney Derby XXVII on Saturday.

There’s certainly no love lost between the GIANTS and the Swans as they vie for bragging rights in the Harbour City.

GIANTS star Sam Taylor made that evident on Monday when he lit the fuse for Saturday’s Battle of the Bridge after labelling the Swans “smug” and “chirpy” while admitting there’s “a lot of dislike” towards the red and white. While the Swans don’t like the term ‘The Battle of the Bridge’ – the GIANTS love it. And on Saturday, the 27th chapter of the fierce rivalry will be written with sparks expected to fly in front of a packed SCG.

With the Swans sitting second and the GIANTS third on the AFL table with six wins and just one loss each, Saturday’s clash is shaping as a must-see stoush between two of the AFL’s elite sides this season. Not since 2016 when the clubs faced off in a qualifying final - in the GIANTS’ first-ever finals appearance and first-ever finals win - have the two sides met at the peak of their powers with both regarded as genuine premiership contenders. In fact, Saturday’s match will be the just the third time in 27 regular season meetings that both the GIANTS and the Swans have sat inside the top four ahead of a Sydney Derby.

As we wait for Saturday’s mouth-watering clash, we thought we’d take a look at some of the moments over the last 12 years that have fuelled one of the AFL’s spiciest rivalries.

read the rest of the story in the link

&

 
Phil Davis adding to the build up ...

“A lot of distaste”: Davis on GWS/Sydney rivalry and how Giants shook ‘little brother’ tag

“I think there was a lot of distaste between the two.”
www.sen.com.au www.sen.com.au

Former GWS captain Phil Davis has reflected on the club’s early rivalry with Sydney.

While Gold Coast haven’t been able to shake the little brother tag against Brisbane, it’s a different story in the Harbour City as the Giants have been able to compete and knock off their cross-town rivals in big games. Davis reflected on the moment that things turned in their ‘Battle of the Bridge’ rivalry in 2014 and spoke about how they became a genuine rival of the Swans early on in their time as an AFL club.

“No, we were very fortunate that we had a big win (to shake the little brother tag), I think it was in the fifth derby (in Round 1, 2014),” Davis said on SEN Whateley. “They trounced us early, the first four average losing margins I think was 80 or 90 points. They were ruthless, and I think from the Giants’ perspective, we've always admired and respected Sydney. Their finals record in the last 25 years is outstanding, they missed the finals maybe three times in that period, so there was always a lot of respect."

“But we got that win in 2014 and then all of a sudden it became competitive and then we were able to win the 2016 Qualifying Final. It was a home final for Sydney and that was sort of the moment I think that it became a relatively even battle from then on. The Giants have gone 3-0 in finals against Sydney … we were able to win big games against them and that's probably what Gold Coast haven't been able to do (against Brisbane).”

While Davis respected the Swans, that doesn’t mean he liked them as tensions boiled between the two clubs and sets of players in the city. The former defender says there was genuine distaste between the two clubs which still exists to this day. “Just because I respected them it didn’t mean I liked them,” Davis said. “There was something that (I knew 15 or 20 Swans players) but there was a lot of distaste (between the players). The Swans were an interesting one because when they were beating us, they were comprehensive in what they were doing."

“They were verbal, and these things just add up. Then it's just a small town and it just builds it. Then you start hearing the backdrop of what (clubs are saying) … the backroom politics that go on too, when that starts to get fed through and you hear what they're trying to do to undermine your whole club, it adds another layer. When you realise that you're threatening their territory, that's when you know you've landed. For us, when we started to win big games, they were trying to undermine what we were trying to grow in Sydney and that's when you knew. Then on the field, you respect them, but there’s a few players up in Sydney that I think there was a lot of distaste between the two.”
 



Can Sam Taylor walk the talk? That and four other burning Sydney derby questions​

By Vince Rugari​

May 3, 2024 — 7.45pm

The first Sydney derby of the AFL season is here, and it’s a belter. The Swans are second, the Giants are third, and September looks like it’s going to be pretty busy for anyone in this city with a Sherrin fetish.
As far as Saturday afternoon is concerned, it’s difficult to split these two sides - so let’s take a closer look at some of the key questions surrounding this tantalising clash.
Giant [PLAYERCARD]Sam Taylor[/PLAYERCARD] spoils against Sydney’s Joel Amartey in a niggly pre-season clash at Tramway Oval.

Giant Sam Taylor spoils against Sydney’s Joel Amartey in a niggly pre-season clash at Tramway Oval.CREDIT:GETTY

Will Sam Taylor be able to back up his words?​

Everyone should be grateful to the star Giants defender, who lobbed an unexpected grenade in the Moore Park direction on Monday by describing the Swans as “a bit smug” and their players as “chirpy” on-field conversationalists.

It was somewhat out of character from an otherwise impeccably polite man, but derbies are always better with real beef, and he served it up beautifully, so we thank him. Sydney chose not to respond; John Longmire said he hadn’t even heard Taylor’s comments, which is hard to believe, and then showered the Giants in praise, saying they didn’t have a bad player in their line-up.

Taylor will probably get booed by the partisan SCG crowd now and will certainly be lined up for some special treatment from Swans players, which is par for the course. He has a big enough job as it is on the fast-improving Logan McDonald, the new focal point of Sydney’s post-Buddy forward line, so we’ll see if he can walk the talk. Let’s hope the umpires’ mics pick up some of the chat, which is bound to be riveting.
[PLAYERCARD]Toby Greene[/PLAYERCARD] is back for the Giants.

Toby Greene is back for the Giants.CREDIT:AFL PHOTOS

How will the Swans stop Toby Greene?​

You wouldn’t say the Giants didn’t miss Greene in last week’s thumping win over Brisbane - but it’s fair to say they didn’t need him, as such, so multi-faceted are the threats in their attack these days. What a luxury it is, though, to be able to inject a player of his calibre into a game like this, and what a frightening thought for the Swans: Greene hasn’t been held goalless in this fixture since 2016, and has kicked three, four, two and three in his last four derbies.

The returning Dane Rampe, Robbie Fox or Ollie Florent seem like the most obvious candidates to do a lockdown job on him, or at least try. But Florent, who has re-signed with the Swans for five more years, wouldn’t give away any hints about the match-up when we asked him this week. “I’m sure someone will go to him,” he said. “He’s a very, very dangerous player and well-respected. You can’t not put any attention into him, or he’ll do what he’s done in the past and play really well.” Cheers for that, Ollie, very helpful.

Will John Longmire regret not recalling Luke Parker?​

No player has won the Brett Kirk Medal more often than Parker, who’s done it five times, including three in a row across 2021 and 2022. It doesn’t feel all that long ago when he used to carry Sydney’s midfield. But times change. Despite having fully recovered from a broken arm, Longmire has overlooked him for selection, banishing him to the VFL for a second straight week. It would have been Parker’s first game of the season and his first since stepping back from the co-captaincy with Dane Rampe to let Callum Mills skipper on his own. Is he underdone? Only the club knows. He’s been named as an emergency. Is Horse playing ducks and drakes?
[PLAYERCARD]Luke Parker[/PLAYERCARD], one of Sydney’s all-time greats, will be playing in the VFL for the second straight weekend.

Luke Parker, one of Sydney’s all-time greats, will be playing in the VFL for the second straight weekend.CREDIT:GETTY
Given the conditions (which we’ll come to in a moment) it might have made sense to drop one of Sydney’s three key forwards - probably Joel Amartey - and bring in Parker, a hardened warrior and proven wet-weather footballer who’s good in the clinches and knows what it takes to dominate these games. Instead, Longmire has put his faith in the players who have delivered for the Swans this far this season. But if they lose the midfield battle, or lose their bottle in moments when Parker’s experience would come in handy, that decision will be questioned.

If it rains, who benefits?​

The forecast is easing somewhat for Saturday, but it’s still probably going to rain, and possibly heavily. History shows this derby is usually closely contested - six of the last nine have been decided by 20 points or less - so if you add in a wet field and a heavy ball, you should get a more physical, in-close battle. The Giants have had two days’ extra rest compared to the Swans, who’ve spent most of the week recovering rather than training, so that kind of game may favour them here. Both teams have gone reasonably tall despite the weather predictions, but GWS’s key position players are a fraction more nimble and mobile.

Ollie Florent has re-signed for four more years at the Swans.

​

How big will the crowd be?​

The Swans are expecting a sell-out - but the weather will ultimately determine how many people actually show up. The final number could be anywhere between 32,000 and 37,000, depending on how many people decide to brave the conditions on Saturday morning and reach for the ponchos in the back of their wardrobes. Only twice before have more than 35,000 turned up for a derby at this venue, and one was an elimination final in 2018. It will be interesting to see how many Giants fans there are - usually it’s tough to spot any orange in the stands at the SCG, but given how well their team is going, there should be plenty of folks following that big, big sound from the west of the town. Especially since this is their first game in Sydney since mid-March.

The off-Broadway timeslot of 1.45pm is an interesting move by the AFL, though, considering how keen they’ve been on stimulating the NSW market. Perhaps better scheduling - like the Showdown, which was this week’s Thursday night feature, the first time South Australia’s marquee game has been given standalone status - could have helped this match shine a little bit more, inside and outside of Sydney.
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BarryAglett said:
Weather is going to suck - but I'm still going.
I'm bringing a Brazilian soccer tragic to his first AFL game today.
It will be an experience!
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Weather is looking much better than it was in previous forecasts.

The rain from the west looks to be delayed and depending on how delayed it is may mean we won't get the rain/rain periods till much later or this evening.

Biggest risk is isolated/scattered showers coming onshore off the coast which may or may not hit during the game. These generally won't be long lasting unless we're really unlucky.

Coin toss IMO.
 
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